Cabinet Members Get Used
To Being Pulled Into Line

By

John Harwood Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated May 4, 2001 12:01 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON -- Early this year, President Bush declared himself unafraid to hire "strong and competent people" for his cabinet. Ever since, he has been proving that he isn't afraid to publicly slap them in line, either.

The latest embarrassment for one of Mr. Bush's cabinet secretaries played out in the media this week, when the Pentagon revised a directive on military-to-military contacts between the U.S. and China after the...